Parker becomes the people’s choice

The chant began sometime in mid-March, not long after the Spurs returned from their annual rodeo road trip.

It started as a low rumbling in the upper reaches of the AT&T Center one night, gathering in strength and voice until it surrounded one man at the foul line in stereo.

“M-V-P! M-V-P!”

That fans’ incantation greets Tony Parker more nights than not at home now, the soundtrack to most of his trips to the charity stripe, and has seemed to intensify since the start of the playoffs.

Parker, the Spurs’ 29-year-old French point guard and one-third of its so-called Big Three, is flattered by the adulation — with one caveat.

“It’s very nice to have all the Spurs fans screaming that,” Parker said. “But it doesn’t mean a whole lot if you don’t go all the way.”

Make no mistake. Despite his best season as a pro, in which he averaged 18.3 points and a career-best 7.7 assists, Parker is not going to win the NBA Most Valuable Player award.

The polls have closed, and the national consensus points to a two-man race between Miami’s LeBron James and Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant.

In that sense, those “M-V-P” chants at the AT&T Center have become imbued with the same adorable sense of desperation as a “Rick Santorum 2012” rally. In another, they represent a bold new evolution in Parker’s career in San Antonio.

For so long perceived as the third wheel of the Big Three, Parker is now the Spurs’ unrivaled lead dog.

“I tell him before every game, ‘We go as far as you go,’” forward Stephen Jackson said. “ ‘If you bring that energy and that tempo, we’re going to be all right.’ ”

For the time being, Parker has carried the top-seeded Spurs into the Western Conference semifinals, where they await the winner of the Memphis-Los Angeles Clippers series. He did so by engineering a four-game sweep of No. 8 Utah, averaging 21 points and 6.5 assists.

Whether Parker next finds himself matched with Memphis’ Mike Conley, who outdueled him in last year’s first round, or the Clippers’ Chris Paul, considered the NBA’s point-guard gold standard, the Spurs like their chances.

“Any time they’re screaming M-V-P at you, you must be doing something right,” Jackson said.

Yet Parker, in his 11th season with the Spurs, hasn’t always been the people’s choice in San Antonio.

Often viewed as aloof by some segments of Spurs fans, and tagged as selfish by others who — unlike coach Gregg Popovich — wanted their point guard to be the pass-first second-coming of John Stockton, Parker had long been a polarizing figure here.

In terms of fan appreciation, he took a back seat in popularity to Tim Duncan, whose understated aura has cast itself over four championship-winning seasons since 1997-98, and to Manu Ginobili, whose frenetic style and Latin roots play well to a South Texas audience.

Even while earning four All-Star berths and designation as MVP of the Spurs’ last Finals victory in 2007, Parker never seemed to reach the same level of cachet as his Big Three counterparts.

Until now.

Parker’s teammates certainly appreciate his newfound position as the Spurs’ pacesetter.

“Tim has been the captain of our team,” Jackson said. “But Tony has been leading us.”

Or, as Ginobili described Parker’s place in the Spurs’ pantheon in the wake of the Utah sweep: “He really owns the team now.”

The changing of the guard began in earnest when Parker returned from overseas after the NBA lockout. In September, he led France to its first Olympic qualification in 12 years, displaying the sort of leadership and fervor Popovich believed was missing from the Spurs’ first-round flameout against Memphis a few months earlier.

Heading into the season, Popovich challenged Parker to take command of the Spurs as he took command of Les Bleus.

“When he got back, he sat me down and told me what kind of year he was going to have,” Popovich said.

Aside from the “M-V-P” chants, which Parker says still surprise him, the blueprint he laid out that day is what has come to pass so far. There is just one more chapter to write, and only one conclusion that seems satisfactory.

For Parker, this season has always been a pass-fail. And, despite the lofty heights he has already hit, the grade is still incomplete.

The All-Star bid, the respect of his peers, the steady drumbeat of “M-V-P” at the AT&T Center mean nothing to him. Not yet, at least.

“Nothing matters if we don’t go anywhere,” Parker said. “If we don’t win a championship, it would be a disappointing season.”